As a medical suture needle, an eyeless needle is known to have a sharp point at one end and a stop hole formed in a face of the other end (i.e., the proximal end face). In this medical suture needle, one end of a suture thread is inserted into the stop hole formed in the face of the proximal end, and the area of the stop hole corresponding to the depth of the stop hole (i.e., the proximal end) is crimped, thereby bonding the suture thread. Medical suture needles of several types that differ in specification have been provided. However, many of the suture thread needles corresponding to these specifications are set to from approximately 0.14 mm to approximately 1.40 mm in thickness. Generally, the diameter of a stop hole formed in the face of the proximal end of each of such medical suture needles is approximately half the thickness of the needle.
A device for crimping the proximal end of a medical suture needle includes a pair of crimping dies that are driven by a driving device, such as a motor as a representative example, so as to move away from or toward each other. While the leading end of a suture thread is inserted in the stop hole of the suture needle, the proximal end of this needle is supplied between the separated crimping dies. In this state, the crimping dies are moved closer to each other, thereby crimping the area corresponding to the stop hole in the proximal end.
Inserting the leading end of a suture thread into a stop hole formed in the face of the proximal end of a medical suture need is a precise task. Therefore, such a crimping device (e.g., see Patent Document 1) as described below has been proposed. This crimping device is provided with a thread guide so as to correspond to a pair of crimping dies composing the crimping device. While a medical suture needle is held by the crimping dies, a suture thread is guided by the thread guide that has approached the stop hole of the medical suture device, thereby inserting the suture thread into the stop hole.
The crimping device disclosed in the Patent Document 1 includes a lower die fixed to a frame, and an upper die that moves away from or toward the lower die. This device is configured such that the thread guide including a first guide member and a second guide member that have a first face and a second face respectively is disposed opposite a stop hole in an eyeless needle held by the lower and upper dies. In particular, an adjustment is made so that while the side face of each of the guide members is kept in contact with the side face of the lower die, the first and second flat faces serving as guide faces correspond to the position of the edge of a stop hole formed in the face of the proximal end of a medical suture needle held between the upper and lower dies.
Accordingly, a medical suture needle to which a suture thread is to be bonded is supplied between the lower and upper dies, and the face of the proximal end of this needle is brought into contact with the side faces of the guide members. This stabilizes the crimping position of the lower and upper dies from the face of the proximal end. The suture thread slides along the first or second flat face of the thread guide toward the medical suture thread needle held by the lower and upper dies, thereby enabling the suture thread to be guided securely into a stop hole.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 3103192